What He Never Lost
by S2 Intelligence
Summary: Sonic was not the smartest tool in the shed, Tails concluded, because all he wanted at the end of the day was his little brother. Sonic and Tails brotherly, no pairings, fluff (or first attempt at it), short. SEGAverse, takes place directly after Sonic Generations. For June 23.


**_Man, I haven't posted anything in a while, especially for Sonic's birthday. Dang. Belated HBDay, Sonic! Don't ever change…_**

**_I _****have****_ been writing, by the way. I've been doing Living Martyr nonstop for the past month, so hopefully I'll finish it and start posting, if anyone's interested (It's my other Sonic story, longer and hopefully a multi-chapter). Just sayin'…_**

**_Disclaimer: Let's see – broke college student, free and public writing website, cool but ridiculously unprofessional penname and presence of an author's note and disclaimer – obviously, I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters and shizzle about him. Doy. I do own the quotes, though._**

**_Enjoy. Sorry for the slight OOC, but I figured it fit within creative license._**

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_The ones we love the dearest are the ones we fear we'll lose the most…_

After a surprise birthday party, a creature that could control time, meeting his past self, rescuing his friends, battling old enemies, racing his greatest rivals, going super, and defeating his nemesis with his past self, Sonic was happy if not downright giddy at the end of his birthday. It had been a good day, and he was all for spending the night retelling his latest adventure to dead robots, bouncing off the walls in his still active adrenaline, and basically making a complete dork of himself without his friends around to judge.

Or so Tails thought.

But instead, as soon as they returned home, the blue hedgehog, plopped down and stretched his legs on the sofa without a sound, threw one arm over the back and the other over the side and leaned back. Turning on the television, he stared at it with unseeing eyes, deep in thought.

"Sonic?" Tails asked hesitantly, coming out of the kitchen with a plate of chilidogs. Sonic was rarely quiet, even at home.

"Yeah, Tails?" He asked, looking over his shoulder with a slight smile at the fox.

Surprised he had managed to catch his attention, something that was hard to do when he was brooding, he asked "Mind if I join you?"

"You don't need to ask, Tails, you know that." Sonic chuckled, dropping his feet to the ground so that the young fox could sit down on the other side.

"You've just been so quiet lately, since we got home…" Tails said, taking a bite out of one of his chilidogs.

"Eh, nothing much really, just thinking…" Sonic replied airily, closing his eyes and shrugging nonchalantly.

In silence, Tails tapped his shoulder, offering him one of the chilidogs on his plate politely, which Sonic refused with a shake of his head.

"That chilidog you got me as a gift was really good, bro." He said, patting his stomach. "I'm still full!"

"And isn't that a miracle?" Tails joked, earning a laugh from both of them. When it died down, he returned to eating his meal and watching the news on the television. Halfway through, however, he could feel his brother's eyes on him, staring, and he turned back to see a strange expression on his face.

"What?" He asked, not used to the weird, slightly sad and wistful look his brother had. "Something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing…" He answered, waving it off. But Tails kept staring at him questioningly, forcing him to continue. "I was just thinking about you, you know. Your past self earlier, I mean."

"Really?" Tails asked, genuinely surprised. "What about him-me-whatever?"

Sonic chuckled weakly. "Ah, you know…how much you've changed, being on your own, not really depending on me anymore…"

Sonic looked in the other direction casually, and Tails had to lean forward to see the smile on his face. But it made him look sad instead of happy, as if he was missing something that he once had.

"You used to be so clingy, back then…" he continued, and Tails noticed that he was staring at one of the pictures that hung on the opposite side of the room. It was the first picture they had ever taken together, where a toddler Tails was happily sitting on his shoulders. He remembered how he touched Sonic's quills then, finding them soft and fun to play with.

"You've grown up really fast, kid…"

Tails saw in mild disbelief as a single tear slid down his muzzle, which he quickly wiped away with his one hand. Had Tails not been trying, he would never have seen it. Nor believed.

_Sonic. Was. Crying_…Did he think growing up mean growing apart?

Shaking his head at his brother, Tails scooted closer until he was sitting right beside him, tucking his head under his outstretched arm and leaning on his side. He rested his head on his chest, relaxing as he could feel his strong heartbeat.

Sonic hated tears, so he probably hated being seen shedding them too. Tails closed his eyes when he felt his head turn back in surprise and stare down at him.

"I'm always going to be your little brother, okay, Sonic?"

He smiled when Sonic rested his chin on the top of his head as his two arms wrapped themselves around him, pulling him close.

"Tails, I…I love you, kiddo…you know that, right?"

The top of his head grew damp and, with a smile, Tails placed his own arms on top of his brother's.

"I know, Sonic, I _know_…I love you too."

_…__and the ones that love us the dearest are the ones we never will._

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**_So…what do you think? Comments, reviews? Bad, good, short, sweet, corny, OOC…? I am _****very****_ insecure about my writing with Sonic, so I'd LOVE some feedback. But I'm not imposing it on anyone, so feel free to do as you please._**

**_Thanks for taking the time to read this, the story and (possibly) the notes. Have a non-disaster filled day! _****_J_****_S2 out._**


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